Special Report: Finding love on your laptop

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) - These days we use our computers for a lot of things, from bills, to shopping, and even reading the news. Now, more and more people are searching for their husband or wife online. Millions of people sign up every year and post their profile on sites like www.eharmony.com and www.match.com. Not everyone using the internet is looking for 'mister right'. Some are in the market for 'mister right now', or just new friends in a new place.

Marnie Jackson met her husband on the internet. She says, "You can kind of safeguard yourself by putting yourself out there with walls. And as you meet the people you want to let into those walls then you can try to open up. But I think it's a good way to protect yourself too." Marnie had been married once before, so she knew what wouldn't work for her. Her friends and family actually encouraged her to use the internet to meet people. Marnie's open mind helped, and so did doing her homework. She says, "As much as you would profile someone in the bar face to face or even in a church group or any kind of dating situation, you should be just as aware online." After a few fiascos, Marnie found someone, a man she would have never met without the worldwide web.

It was a similar situation for Rick and Jane Martin. They have been married for two years now. They used the same dating sites, but for different reasons. Jane says, "I grew up in the area and everyone I had known so there really wasn't anyone that I'd met that I wanted to go out with. Her husband Rick was looking for a different reason. He says, "I'm from out of state so I didn't really know that many people in the area so it was really advantageous for me to have that service available to use." The couple admits there are pitfalls and pranksters on those online dating sites, but if you're careful, its possible to find love on your laptop. Rick says, "Have an open mind. Be reserved about what you put on there. But, be optimistic that you may find the special one you're trying to find."

The couple both tried several sites and went on many dates before finding each other. Both now say even with all the meetings and wrong matches, waiting and rejection, it was all worth it. Jane says, "I'm a very optimistic person so I thought I'd meet someone. Now whether I was gonna meet the person I would eventually marry and spend the rest of my life with, I'm not sure if that really crossed my mind. But I was sure that I would meet some people to date and sometimes it's about having the experience to know what you really want."

(AP Photo/Jennifer Kay). Six crosses are placed at a makeshift memorial on the Florida International University campus in Miami on Saturday, March 17, 2018, near the scene of a pedestrian bridge collapse that killed at least six people on March 15.

A matter of seconds between those who would live and those who would die as Florida pedestrian bridge topples down highway bustling with passing vehicles.

Authorities say a missing Pennsylvania teenager and a 45-year-old man who frequently signed her out of school without her parents' permission have been located in Mexico, and the man has been arrested.

Authorities say a missing Pennsylvania teenager and a 45-year-old man who frequently signed her out of school without her parents' permission have been located in Mexico, and the man has been arrested.

(Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP). FBI agents work the scene of an explosion in Austin, Texas, Sunday, March 18, 2018. At least a few people were injured in another explosion in Texas' capital late Sunday, after three package bombs detonat...

Officials reported that an explosion in southwest Austin injured two men in their 20s who were hospitalized with injuries that didn't appear to be life-threatening.

(AP Photo/Jennifer Kay). Six crosses are placed at a makeshift memorial on the Florida International University campus in Miami on Saturday, March 17, 2018, near the scene of a pedestrian bridge collapse that killed at least six people on March 15.

A matter of seconds between those who would live and those who would die as Florida pedestrian bridge topples down highway bustling with passing vehicles.

(Joe Ahlquist/The Rochester Post-Bulletin via AP). Emergency personnel respond to the scene of a fatal stabbing Saturday, March 17, 2018, at the Salvation Army Castleview Residence in downtown Rochester, Minn. Police have arrested a man in the multiple...

Police have arrested a man in the fatal stabbing of two men at a Salvation Army apartment building in downtown Rochester, Minnesota.

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News reports that Facebook let the Trump-affiliated data mining firm Cambridge Analytica abscond with data from tens of millions of users mark the third time in roughly a year the company appears to have been outfoxed in this way.

Authorities say a missing Pennsylvania teenager and a 45-year-old man who frequently signed her out of school without her parents' permission have been located in Mexico, and the man has been arrested.

Authorities say a missing Pennsylvania teenager and a 45-year-old man who frequently signed her out of school without her parents' permission have been located in Mexico, and the man has been arrested.

(Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP). FBI agents work the scene of an explosion in Austin, Texas, Sunday, March 18, 2018. At least a few people were injured in another explosion in Texas' capital late Sunday, after three package bombs detonat...

Officials reported that an explosion in southwest Austin injured two men in their 20s who were hospitalized with injuries that didn't appear to be life-threatening.